Window display device



July 5, 1938.

L. G. SIMJIAN WINDOW DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Dec. 7,1957 :s sheets-sneet 1INVENTOR A TTORNE Y y 5, 1938. L. G. SIMJIAN WINDOW DISPLAY DEVICE 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. '7, 1937 INVENTOR IflZerGIJ'im i099, BY ATTORNEY Jul 5, 1938.

L. G. SIMJIAN WINDOW DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Dec. 7, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 31N VEN TOR 111271 G'J ATTORNEY Patented July 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICEWINDOW DISPLAY DEVICE Luther G. Simjian, Riverside, Conn.

Application December '7, 1937, Serial No. 178,475

15 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to the displaying of goods in storeWindows and the like, and the invention has reference, moreparticularly, to a novel window display device adapted for enabling arelatively large quantity of goods to be viewed through a relativelysmall window.

In high rent areas, the tendency is to reduce the size of store frontsso that the store windows thereof are very limited in area, with theresult that but few goods can be displayed at a time,

which is highly objectionable inasmuch as the necessary inducement forbringing customers into the store is not present.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novelwindow display device that serves, in effect, to convert a limited storewindow opening space into a multiple window opening' space, so that aStorekeeper having a small store frontage can exhibit his goods on thescale of a multiple store front window system.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision of a novelwindow display device of the above character that is adapted to show thegoods'individually and without the necessity of moving the same.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide means forexhibiting a projected description of the goods to be displayed, on ascreen, sothat' the customer will, know in advance what the next itemtobe displayed is going to be, to-

gether with the price thereof, etc.

QStill another object of the present invention is to provide a lightingarrangement wherebyeach item to be displayed is most favorablyilluminated,the lights and shadows being most suitable for exhibitingthe item.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from thespecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein the invention is embodied in concrete form.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan View, partly in section, of the novelwindow displaydevice of the present invention.

-- Fig. 2 is a sectional of Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 3-3 ofFig. 1. I

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 isa view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a slight modification ofthe invention.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. 7 isa sectional view in elevation of a somewhat modified form ofthe invention.

Similar characters of reference are used in all of the above figures toindicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 4, the reference numeral I designates astore or other window, be-

view taken along line 22 hind which goods are to be displayed, saidwindow being normally of somewhat small area so that but few goods couldbe displayed behind the same in the ordinary manner. The window spaceimmediately to the rear of window I is shown as divided into two shallowdisplay compartments 2, 3 and a central deep compartment or passage 4extending quite some distance to the rear of window I. At the open sidesof compartment or passage 4 there are provided a plurality of additionaldisplay compartments 5 to I2, inclusive, Within which goods are adaptedto be displayed, facing toward the central compartment 4.

A movable carriage I 3, having wheels I4, is movable along tracks I5, I5that extend along the length of the compartment 4. A vertical mir- IOII6 has upper and lower trunnions 38, 38 pivotally mounted upon thecarriage I3 for turning about a vertical axis so that the face of themirror may be positioned at 45 with respect to the longitudinal axis ofcompartment 4, whereby a person looking in through the window I maydirectly observe articles in compartments 5 to I2 by reflection from themirror I 6. In Fig. 1, the mirror is shown positioned for displaying thegoods in compartment 9. Lamps II are illustrated as installed upon thecarriage I3 for illuminating the compartments 5 to I2, these lamps beingprovided with suitable reflectors I I for directing the light mostfavorably upon the goods displayed.

In order to move the carriage I3 along the tracks I5, I5, a motor I8 isprovided. This motor is connected through worm and wheel reductiongearing I9 to a Geneva gear 20 having the driving pin 2| for operatingin the slots, such as 34 and 35, of the cross member 20 of the gear. Thecross member 20 is fixed upon a shaft 22 that is connected through spurgearing 23 for driving a sprocket shaft 24 having a sprocket 24' thereondriving the sprocket chain 25 extending longitudinally withincompartment 4 and passing around an idler sprocket 26 at the forwardportion of this compartment. The carriage I3 is connected to be drivenby sprocket chain 25, as by a rod 2'! pivoted at its lower end as uponone of the pivotal pins of the sprocket chain, the said rod beingadapted to slide vertically in a guide bearing 28 provided on thecarriage I3, as the same passes around the sprockets 24', 26. Thus, asthe motor I8 operates continuously in one direction, the Geneva gear 20serves to drive the sprocket chain 25 so that carriage I3 isreciprocated in an intermittent manner forwardly and rearwardly withinthe compartment 4. The gearing is such that the carriage comes to restopposite each of the compartments 5 to I2, 1. e., during the stationaryperiods of the Geneva cross member 20'.

In order that a description of the goods about to exhibited in eachsuccessive compartment may be given the prospective customers lookingthrough window I, a motion picture projector 35 is shown mounted uponthe carriage It at the rear thereof. In order that the projected pictureproduced by projector 38 may be seen from in front of the window l, thesilver on mirror I5 is divided into narrow vertical strips that are mu-1 tuaily spaced from one another, i. e., this mirror is half silvered,thereby allowing the picture projected upon the back of this mirror tobe seen from in front of window I. The projector 32? is operated whilethe carriage It is in motion, so that as this carriage moves from onecompartment to the next, the desired information is pro jected by theprojector.

In order to control the operating motor 3| of the projector, suitableswitching means is provided, operated from the Geneva gear Zll. Thus, asshown in Fig. 6, the drive pin 23 of this gear is arranged to operatelevers 32 and 32 of a start-stop switch 33 having the projection motor3! in the circuit thereof In operation, assuming the carriage to be inthe position shown in Fig. l, the mirror I6 is disposed for displayingthe goods in compartment 9, the Geneva gear drive pin 2! having justmoved out of the lower radial slot 34 of Geneva cross member 20 (seeFig. 4). While the goods are being thusly displayed, the pin 21continues to move around until it enters the right hand upper slot 35 ofcross member 29, thereupon starting to turn the gear 20' and effectrearward movement of the carriage It. Just as the pin 2! commences toenter the slot 35, it 'actuates lever 32 of switch 33, thereby causingthe energization of film motor 3! and the deenergization of lamps El sothat during the rearward movement of the carriage from the positionopposite the compartment 5 to the position opposite the compartment 10,the projector is in operation, describing the goods which are about toappear in compartment In. On arriving oppcsite compartment H], the drivepin 2| has turned slot 35 downwardly into the position of slot 34 shownin Fig 4, and on leaving this slot, actuates the switch arm 32 to effectthe deenergization of motor 3! and the illumination of lamps partment i9are readily viewed from in front of window i.

After an interval, dependent upon the speed l2, the carriage will moverearwardly somewhat,

while the rod 27 passes upwardly around the rear sprocket 24', and whilethus moving rearwardly, a lever arm 36 on mirror trunnion 33 is engagedand actuated by a stationary pin 37! positioned within the chamber 4,this pin serving to turn the mirror 15 upon carriage l3 from the fullline position shown in Fig. 1 through 90 to the dotted line positionshown therein, in which position the apparatus is ready for viewing thegoods in compartment 8. While the rod 2'! was moving rearwardly aroundthe sprocket 24, the projector 30 was also operating to inform thecustomer or observer of the nature of the goods in compartment 8.

ll so that the objectswithin the com- Continued operation of drive motorl8 now causes the carriage l3 to be advanced step by step fromcompartment 8 to compartment 5, displaying successively the goods in thecompartments 5 to 8, while the pin 2'1, actuating the carriage, isconnected to the upper run of sprocket chain 25.

After exhibiting the goods in compartment 5, the rod 2! moves forwardlysomewhat and down around the sprocket 26, and in so doing, causes a pin37 in compartment 4 to actuate the lever 36 and turn mirror It through90 to its full line position preparatory to viewing the goods incompartments 9 to l2. Thus, the operation of the dispiay device iscontinuous and entirely automatic, the projector serving to giveinformation of the nature of thegoods in each compartment prior to theactual arrival of the carriage opposite such compartment, and upon thearrival of the carriage thereat, the projector is shut off and thelights I! illuminated for displaying the goods.

In this way a large volume of goods may be displayed when only arelatively small show window'is available,

If desired, instead of operating the moving picture projector 38 whilethe carriage is moving from one compartment to another, a curtain orshade 39. may be operated .by a shade motor 40 (see Fig. 5) to block offthe compartmentd during such movement of the carriage, in which case theentire surface of mirror 16 is silvered. This shade motor 46] in suchcase would be connected to switch 33 in lieu of motor 3|, as shown inFig. 6. Upon the deenergization of the motor 40, the spring in thewinding drum 4| of the shade would automatically withdraw the shadeupwards so as to expose the compartment 4 to view.

In some instances may not be'desired to utilize much space to the rearof theiwindow for display purposes, as in Fig. 1, but it may bepreferable to utilize space vertically for this purpose, as shown inFig. '7. The apparatus in this figure is very similar to that of thepreceding figures and corresponding parts are correspondingly numbered,with the exception that the carriage I3 is shown as moving verticallyinstead of horizontally and a permanent inclined mirror 42 is positionedto the rearof the Window I. Thus, a prospective customer, by lookingthrough the window I, will see the goods in compartments 5 to l2successively displayed. It would appear that further description of thisform of the invention would be unnecessary.

As many changes could be madein the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall'be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. l

It will be obvious that instead of using a plurality of displaycompartments at each side of passage 4, but a single display compartmentmay be used at each side of this passage, and if desired, the carriageit may be moved-with a con tinuous instead of anintermittent motion;Also, the projector 30 may be mounted in a stationary position, as abovethe path of travel of the carriage, and may project upon the shade 39,if desired, in which case this shade could be made translucent, it beingunderstood that this shade is connected as by straps or cords to motor'40 for operation by the latter.

What is claimed is:

1. In a display device, a plurality of display compartments, and amirror movable from compartment tocompartment for reflecting thecontents thereof for purposes of observation.

2. In a display device, means providing a viewing passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, a mirror within said passage,and means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps along saidpassage so that the same comes to rest opposite each compartment for usein viewing the contents thereof.

3. In a display device, means providing a viewing passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, a mirror within said passage,means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps along said passage sothat the same comes to rest opposite each compartment for use in viewingthe contents thereof, and means for orienting said mirror, whereby thesame is suitably positioned for reflecting the contents of eachcompartment.

4. In combination, a show window and a display device therewithin, saiddevice comprising a passage, compartments disposed along the sides ofsaid passage, a carriage movable along said passage, and a mirrormounted on said carriage for reflecting the contents of saidcompartments along said passage for observation from in front of saidshow window.

5. In combination, a show window and .a display device therewithin, saiddevice comprising a passage, compartments disposed along the sides ofsaid passage, a carriage movable along said passage, a mirror mounted onsaid carriage for reflecting the contents of said compartments alongsaid passage for-observation from in front of said show window, motivemeans for moving said carriage whereby the latter is brought to restopposite each compartment, and means for turning said mirror, wherebythe contents of the compartments on both sides of said passage areselectively viewed.

6. In a, window display device, means providing a passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, 2. half silvered mirror withinsaid passage, means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps alongsaid passage whereby the same comes to rest for an interval oppositeeach compartment for reflecting the contents thereof along said passage,and a projection apparatus movable with said mirror and operable duringsuch movement to project through said mirror and along said passageinformation as to the contents of said compartments.

7. In a window display device, means providing a passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, a half silvered mirror withinsaid passage, means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps alongsaid passage whereby the same comes to rest for an interval oppositeeach compartment for reflecting the contents thereof along said passage,a projection apparatus mov able with said mirror and operable duringsuch movement to project through said mirror and along said passageinformation as to the contents of said compartments, and switching meansfor stopping the operation of said projection apparatus while saidmirror is at rest opposite a compartment.

8. In a display device for use in store windows, means providing apassage, a plurality of compartments facing upon opposite sides of saidpassage, a carriage movable along said passage, a mirror mounted on saidcarriage for reflecting the contents of said compartments along saidpassage, a motor drive for moving said carriage, and intermittentgearing included in said motor drive for temporarily arresting themovement of said carriage as said mirror arrives opposite eachcompartment.

9. In a display device for use in store windows, means providing apassage extending within the store from the window, a plurality ofcompartments facing upon opposite sides of said passage, a carriagemovable along said passage, a mirror mounted on said carriage forreflecting the contents of said compartments along said passage, .amotor drive for moving said carriage, intermittent gearing included insaid motor drive for temporarily arresting the movement of said carriageas said mirror arrives opposite each compartment, and means for turningsaid mirror with respect to said carriage at the limits of travel ofsaid carriage, whereby said mirror enables the viewing of thecompartments on both sides of said passage.

10. In a display device, means providing a viewing passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, a mirror Within said passage,means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps along said passage sothat the same comes to rest opposite each compartment for use in viewingthe contents thereof, and a shade operated in synchronism with saidmirror for closing off the view to said passage during movement of saidmirror.

11. In a display device, a plurality of display compartments, a mirrormovable intermittently from compartment to compartment for reflectingthe contents thereof for purposes of observation, lamps movable withsaid mirror for illuminating said compartments, and means for energizingsaid lamps during the periods that said mirror is at rest adjacent saidcompartments.

12. In a display device, a plurality of display compartments, a mirrormovable from compartment to compartment and having a period of rest ateach compartment, a picture projector and lamps movable with saidmirror, and means for operating said picture projector during theperiods of movement of said mirror and for en ergizing said lamps duringperiods of rest of said mirror.

13. In a display device, means providing a passage, a displaycompartment opening upon said passage, and a mirror movable along saidpassage and having its face extending at an angle to the length thereoffor projecting an image of the contents of said compartment along saidpassage.

14. A display device as defined in claim 13, wherein a second mirror ispositioned so as to intercept said image and to reflect the same to adesired point for observation.

15. In a window display device, means providing a passage withcompartments opening upon said passage, a mirror within said passage,means for moving said mirror in intermittent steps along said passagewhereby the same comes to rest for an interval opposite each compartmentfor reflecting the contents thereof along said passage, and a projectionapparatus operable during such movement to project information as to thecontents of said compartments.

LUTHER G. SIMJIAN.

